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Heritage
Safiaddin Urmavi and Uzeyir Hajibayov
Author:
City
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Baku
Country :
Azerbaijan
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In the part of the treatise "Kitab al-Advar" dedicated to intervals (abads), their quality and interdependence the author determined nine intervals of his 17 graded gamma as a harmonic interval and divided them into the groups. We should note that harmonicness is Urmavis main criteria. According to Urmavi, harmonic interval gives a good taste to a health sense and is welcome by it, a disharmonic one denies it. In his comments on "Kitab al-Advar" DErlange compared harmonicness with the incrustation of valuable stones.
Urmavi dedicated the following part of his book to the reasons of dissonance as the continuation of the problem. In order not to let dissonance emerge the scholar revealed the reasons of that: three consequent tanini intervals, the succession of three seconds intervals (tanini, mujannab, bakiya), the succession of three bakiyas (small semitone) and the consequent sounding of two bakiyas cause dissonance. ")5
Such a part is omitted in Jamis treatise "About music". Urmavis other successors did not give any necessary information about the dissonance of intervals. So, Urmavis theories of dissonance and mode are quite new, very significant to the theory of oriental mode.
Uzeyir bey was also a herald of harmonicness in his works. Though, it is true that in his book there is no chapter dedicated to the intervals (abad) because in the XX century there was no need to explain their meaning. Still, Hajibayov explicated a particular intonation met in Azerbaijan and oriental peoples music caused by the emergence of the interval of the increased second which had never been studied before. Hajibayov proved the emergence of two new tetrachords linked with that interval. One of them built on the tone formula 1/2 - 1 1/2 - 1/2 is included in the scales of some oriental peoples music, the other one built on the formula 1/2 -1 - 1/2 is basic only for the scale of Azerbaijan music.
As if continuing Urmavis theory of dissonance Hajibayov wrote: "As far as the tetrachord built on the formula 1-1-1 (tritone), is concerned none of the grades of this tetrachord may be good for satisfactory conclusion of musical phrases or cadences as the functional interrelation of the grades of this tetrachords is not distinctly expressed due to the absence of semitones. Therefore in Azerbaijan modes where scales are built from the equal tetrachords, we observe complete absence of tritones". Like Urmavi, Hajibayov revealed the reasons of its breaking and concluded: "The increased second is the result of the violation of gradual succession of three complete tones by means of alternation of middle tones of tritone".")6
The part "Harmonious and consonant compositions "of "Kitab al-Advar" was dedicated to the main part of mode structure - tetrachords and pentachords. Urmavi called them kisim, in other words, fractions.
In order not to let the emergence of dissonance the scholar divided a quart into seven tetrachords and a quint into 13 pentachords. In his book he presented the table of only 7 tetrachords and 12 pentachords. Urmavi noted, if these fractions were combined with each other, a circle of the volume of an octave was formed.
Like Urmavi, Hajibayov wrote about the ways of combinations of tetrachords in a special part. Unlike Urmavi who presented only one conjoint combination of tetrachords, Hajibayov combined tertrachords by four ways of combinations. The combination of equal tetrachords, gradual succession of grades in scales form consequent order of organization. If equally formed perfect tetrachords are combined by the first way we receive a scale consisting of a number of successive perfect quarts. The second way of combinations builds the scale consisting of perfect quints, the third way - the one of minor sixths and the forth - the one of major sixths. Hajibayov noted, that, besides main tetrachords, the auxiliary tetrachords built from the second, third, forth grades and middle tones were of great importance. We should note, if Urmavi had combined scales using all of the four ways, he would have received 192 scales. Urmavi built the main modes from not only equal tetrachords, but also unequal ones, but, according to Hajibayov, modes were built from only equal tetrachords.
5 “Kitab al-Advar”, sheet 17
6 "Principles of Azerbaijan folk music", p.27
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